Kings Park Education Foundation Hosts 2nd Masquerade Ball

Rapidly becoming one of “the” social events of the year, The Kings Park Education Foundation hosted it second annual Masquerade Ball at the end of October. This year’s gala paid tribute to educational icons John Bogenshutz and John L. Sullivan.

Masquerade masks were quickly on the table as almost 300 guests gathered to pay homage and squeeze in some partying. Politicos amassed and included Senator John Flanagan, Assemblyman Mike Fitzpatrick, Legislator Lynn Nowik, Supervisor Pat Vecchio and Town Council members Eddie Werheim, Thomas McCarty and town councilwoman Pat Biancatello.

KPEF President Tony Tanzi took the podium to welcome the honorees, their families and the distinguished guests including school district administrators and all members of the Kings Park B.O.E. and teacher union Vice President Kevin Johnston.

A dear friend of Sullivan’s, Tanzi shared the sentiment of many in the Kings Park community when he said John Sullivan will be sorely missed. A Kings Park native, Sullivan recently moved his wife and five beautiful children to Delaware. The co-founder of the KPEF, Sullivan is also former B.O.E. President and ardent education advocate. Before leaving his home-town Sullivan gave countless hours to the children of the community as a Big Brother and coaching numerous teams for KPY and the KP Soccer Club. Sullivan was honored in 2000 by Long Island Business News as one of the 40 Under 40 most influential business people on LI. However, barely mentioned the evening of the gala was Sullivan’s extraordinary efforts with regards to the Harry Chapin Food Bank and his work with an often forgotten segment of LI society, its poor and homeless. Tanzi proudly said, “John Sullivan truly knows the meaning of charity”. Dear friend and former neighbor Pat Vecchio spoke from the heart about Sullivan and his contributions to Kings Park and formally presented him with a framed Proclamation from the town.

Kings Park School Superintendent took the podium to honor Bogenshutz who is referred to by students both past and present as “Mr. B”. Light-hearted and jovial, Bogenshutz is clearly a beloved member of the Kings Park school District. In between humorous stories, including one about the “Leo Alert” and his deep affection for another community great Leo Ostebo, Bogenshutz graciously accepted the honors bestowed upon him. His beautiful wife and daughters and brand new son-law watched proudly and he engaged the large crowd. Adored by generations of Kings Park children, in an incredibly humble manner, Bogenshutz thanked the community for allowing him to teach their children, sharing that it has been his greatest honor. Messages from children were read – one adoring student said, “He basically runs the school”. It was clear that throughout his thirty year career in the district, which will end with retirement this year, Mr. Bogenshutz has greatly impacted both the students and his co-workers. His psychology class was a much anticipated class for many in the high school and his work as both a baseball and football coach added to interpersonal relationship with his students. Known for making learning interesting and enjoyable, Bogenshutz was alsol the advisor for Student Council and Big Brothers. He also mentored countless new educators. He said, “Chosing to become a teacher was the best decision I ever made”. Tears sprang from men and women alike as the educational extraordinaire left the podium.

THE KPEF has been in operation for about 18 months and has raised money through its annual golf outing and masquerade ball. Tanzi says, “While the foundation may be in its infancy, we have been able to assemble a group of exceptional people to sit on our board and quickly become an extremely viable organization. In a relatively short period of time, we’ve raised a significant amount of money”. The private funds have been donated to the school district for educational extras like new gymnastic equipment for the high school team, new sound systems, one for the high school and a portable one to be shared between RJO and the middle school. In additional the KPEF generally funded Mel Levine training for four district educators. Tanzi says, “I think the foundation is so important because in these fiscally trying times, we can step in and help enhance the education of the students of Kings Park”.

Any can submit an idea and request for funding. A funds usage form can be downloaded from the web site www.kpef.org Vecchio said, “This is a great organization raising lots of money for programs the the BOE can’t afford”. Team Tanzi have a lot of exciting things on the horizon for the foundation, enhancing education without burdening taxpayers – it’s a win win situation.
 

  What a GREAT idea... hats off to the RJO-PTA for their innovative new fund raiser.
   Whether it's the VFW, Knight of Columbus, American Legion, PTA, PFO, local youth group, athletic club, SADD, MADD, the boy scouts, girl scouts, cub scouts, sons of this and the daughters of that, you get the picture; each one of these organizations has made their way into a local business establishment looking for some sort of support or contribution for their cause. Well, with some innovative thinking, the RJO-PTA has found a way to give back to these generous merchants and still fund raise to boot!

    Capitalizing on the fact most people will usually bring a desert when visiting over the Thanksgiving holiday, the RJO-PTA is utilizing the local businesses to provide merchandise for their fund raising projects. Utilizing our own community's resources gives the local merchants as well as the organization a much needed and welcome boost.

      Time is running out, the deadline to place your cake order is Monday, November 21.  CLICK HERE FOR THE ORDER FORM

FANTASTIC WORK!

     Local residents have again picked up their signs and chanted their message, "Stop The Sale... Clean Up Your Mess".  Vehemently against New York State's plan to sell and transfer the Kings Park Psychiatric Center property, residents are concerned Arker/Cherokee, the developer will attempt to recoup the extensive costs of the property's remediation by over developing the site. Such a move would seriously tax the already over crowded roads and over burden school system, as well as impact all other aspects of the area's infrastructure.

     The holiday season is upon us and Kings Park is gearing up to lend a hand. Each year, on the Saturday before Thanksgiving, students from the Kings Park High School along with staff volunteers participate in the district's "Stuff A Bus" food-raiser. The plan is to collect food from shoppers exiting local grocery stores and distribute the donations to needy families in our area. The program was started in the mid 1990's and is growing stronger each year. This year more than seventy-five volunteers participated.

      To All Those Involved
                    Thank You For Your Caring ...
                                        Thank You For Sharing...